Jet Set Radio (for PC)

Sega's 15-year old ode to street culture may suffer from a few dated design choices, but the skating-and-tagging title remains an enjoyable experience due to its fast action, humor, and excellent soundtrack.

Cons

Bottom Line

Sega's 15-year old ode to street culture may suffer from a few dated design choices, but the skating-and-tagging title remains an enjoyable experience due to its fast action, humor, and excellent soundtrack.

Nov. 19, 2015Jeffrey L. Wilson

Back in 2000, Sega gave us a look into the future of funk with Jet Set Radio, a cel-shaded action game that starred a cute band of rollerblading miscreants who tagged walls, battled rival delinquents, and avoided out-of-control cops. The updated PC version, also called Jet Set Radio, flexes high-definition graphics, developer interviews, and all of the bells-and-whistles you'd expect from a Steam game. Dripping in manga-influenced hip-hop flavor, and boasting one of the greatest soundtracks ever crafted for a video game, the grind-happy Jet Set Radio is a title that belongs in the library of any one who digs fast-paced action games, incredibly catchy tunes, and street culture. Even a loading bug, annoying time limitations, and a sometimes-wonky camera can't prevent this gem from shining. The remastered Jet Set Radio is available on PC, but you can also find it on last-generation consoles.

Mischievous Boy

In Jet Set Radio, you control the members of the funky GG crew, a squad that marks their territory by spraying graffiti over rival gangs' tags in a fictionalized Tokyo-to. You begin the game controlling Beat, but recruit Gum and other GG heads by either impressing them with your sick skating-and-tagging skills or defeating other bomber gangs. Each recruit has her or his own skating, tagging, and paint can-carrying skill attributes, so how you complete missions varies from character to character. That's a nice touch that encourages you to explore the depths of your crew.

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About the Author

For more than a decade, Jeffrey L. Wilson has penned gadget- and video game-related nerd-copy for a variety of publications, including 1UP, 2D-X, The Cask, Laptop, LifeStyler, Parenting, Sync, Wise Bread, and WWE. He now brings his knowledge and skillset to PCMag as Senior Analyst.

When he isn't staring at a monitor (or two) and churning out Web hosting, music, utilities, and video game copy, Jeffrey mentors, practices Jeet Kune Do, blogs, podcasts, and speaks at the occasional con. He also collects vinyl and greatly enjoys a craft brew.